Grades

Grading System

Per the University Handbook, F80-82 - grades will be reported in the following manner:

Grade points are assigned to determine graduation requirements, academic warning and dismissal levels, and scholastic honors.

Beginning in Spring 2012, all grades of ‘F’ (Fail) and/or ‘NC’ (No Credit) will require a “Yes/No” statement as to the student’s participation in Academically related activities. This statement is required due to the federal mandate regarding the issuance of federal financial aid.

Grade changes are submitted directly to the student information system (KSIS). Grade Change Rosters will remain open for five years from the original posting date to submit changes. On-line changes to certain grades such as ‘W’ and ‘XF’ will not be allowed, nor to grades related to a completed program of a graduated student. Any changes not accommodated by KSIS must be handled by submitting a Grade Change Memorandum form to the Dean of the College.

Courses in which a ‘CR’ or ‘P’ grade is received may be used in fulfilling graduation requirements. Only the grades ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, and ‘F’ are used in calculating resident grade averages.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Types

Definitions of GPA Types and Calculating the Grade Point Average - refer to Grade Point Average (GPA) Types for additional information.

Incomplete Grade Policy

{University Handbook, F83}

The instructor will make an appropriate report on any student who does not complete a course in accordance with these definitions:

• If a drop in a full-semester course occurs in the first 36 calendar days, no grade is reported. The deadline for other courses will be pro-rated based on the course length.
• If a student drops a full-semester course after the first 36 calendar days, but before the start of the eleventh week, a withdrawal (W) is reported.  The deadline for other courses will be pro-rated based on course length. See the Office of the Registrar website for details.
• After the tenth week of classes, a course may not be dropped.
• The grade of incomplete is a temporary grade given at the discretion of the faculty upon request of the student. An incomplete grade is appropriate when verifiable circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent completion of course requirements by the grade submission deadline, and the student was engaged and participating in the class prior to the circumstances that prevented completion of course requirements. The grade of incomplete is not to be used to avoid assigning a poor grade that results from unsatisfactory academic work.

In most instances, the requirements for completion of a course are detailed in the original course syllabus. It is in the student’s best interest to confirm in writing with the faculty member the remaining requirements to be completed in order to replace the grade of incomplete. If the faculty member
requires anything other than the syllabus requirements or chooses to have a time frame for completion other than the end of the next regular term, the faculty member must provide written notification to the student. A sample notification form is available on the Office of the Registrar’s website. Typically, requiring student participation in the entire course in a subsequent semester without enrolling is not an appropriate means to satisfy requirements for the incomplete.

Incompletes are expected to be finished by the conclusion of the next regular academic term (fall or spring), or the student’s graduation term – whichever is earlier. Any incomplete remaining after the next regular term is reassigned to an ‘F’ (regardless of student’s enrollment status) and will be computed in the student’s GPA, weighted at 0.000-grade points per credit. In extreme cases, a student may be granted an extension of an incomplete beyond the next regular term. To request such an extension, the student must complete with appropriate signatures the Incomplete Extension Request Form. 

Undergraduate research courses, internship courses, theses, dissertations, directed research courses, and other courses with the ‘IH’ grading option are exempt from the one regular term limit for completion.

A student with incompletes will only be cleared for graduation if receiving ‘F’s in every incomplete class earned in Fall 2018 or later will satisfy the requirements for graduation. Upon approval for graduation, all grades of incomplete earned Fall 2018 or later remaining on the record will be changed to grades of ‘F’.

Auditing

Auditing is participating in a class regularly without submitting classwork and without receiving credit. Permission to audit is granted by the instructor, with the approval of the dean of the college in which the class is offered. Laboratory and activity courses may not be audited. Audits are not recorded on the permanent record. Students should not enroll in courses they plan to audit. {University Handbook, Section F66.1}

Any Kansas resident 60 years of age or older upon the presentation of sufficient proof of age shall be permitted to audit courses at state universities on a space-available basis with no requirement for payment of tuition and fees required of every student as a condition of enrollment. A person meeting these requirements shall be considered a non-degree seeking student for purposes of K.A.R. Articles 88-29, 29a, and 29b. Special academic fees shall be paid by the student. All determinations as to residency, the age of the applicant, and the space available for the auditing of courses by such persons shall be made by the state university involved. {University Handbook, Section F66.2} - For more information, see the Kansas Board of Regents Policy Manual.

Non-Permissible Changes to the Academic Record after Degree Posting

Grade changes may not be made after a degree has been posted, for courses taken prior to that degree posting. In addition, backdated withdrawals will not be processed after a degree has been posted, for any term prior to that degree posting.

‘A’/Pass/Fail Policy

Per the University Handbook, F91-93, Undergraduate students, except first-term freshmen and students on academic warning, may enroll in certain courses for which they have the normal prerequisites under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail grading option. Under this option, students earning a grade of ‘A’ in a course will have an ‘A’ recorded on the transcript for that course; a grade of ‘B’, ‘C’, or ‘D’ will be recorded as Pass; a Grade of ‘F’ will be recorded as ‘F’.

Students may request the ‘A’/Pass/Fail grading option for eligible courses at the time of enrollment through the third and fourth weeks of each regular semester or during the second week of the summer semester. Deadlines for courses running on other calendars (e.g. intersession) will be prorated. Students requesting the use of the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option must obtain the signature of their advisors. The decision by a student to use the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option is treated with strict confidentiality.

It is the responsibility of a student requesting enrollment under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail grading option to be sure that such enrollment is valid in the declared degree program. A course originally completed under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail grading option may not be converted at any time to a graded basis.

Students should be aware that some institutions, scholarship committees, and honorary societies do not find work taken on a non-graded basis (Pass) acceptable. Furthermore, many employers do not view non-graded (Pass) coursework favorably. All students should be cautious in using the ‘A’/Pass/Fail
grading option.

Each department or division may specify which courses its majors may take under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail grading option consistent with the university requirements listed below.

1. Students may enroll under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option for any free elective course offered under this option. Courses that are specified by name or number and courses that meet general distribution requirements are not considered free electives. Students should not choose this option for any course related to their curriculum.
2. Students may enroll under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option for any general distribution requirement offered under this option, provided that the course is in the upper-division level (300 and above). General distribution requirements consist of those courses which are listed by areas, for example, three courses in the humanities.
3. Students may not enroll under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option in any course that is required by name or number as part of their degree programs. It is the responsibility of students requesting enrollment under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option to be sure that such enrollment is valid in their degree program.
4. A course originally completed under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option may only be converted to a graded basis with the consent of the instructor and academic dean.
5. Undergraduate students may submit Pass hours for graduation requirements up to and not exceeding one-sixth of the total number of hours required for a bachelor’s degree.
6. Students may request the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option for eligible courses at the time of enrollment through the third and fourth weeks of each regular semester or during the second week of the summer semester. Deadlines for courses running on other calendars (e.g. intersession) will be pro-rated.
7. Students requesting the use of the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option must obtain their advisor’s signature. The decision by a student to use the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option is treated with strict confidentiality.

A student may enroll under the ‘A’/Pass/Fail option for any free elective course offered under this option, that is, in any course that is in no way specified even in general terms in their curriculum, secondary major, or minor. Courses that are specified by name or number and courses that meet general
distribution requirements and courses to be applied in a secondary major or minor are not considered free electives.

Students may submit Pass units for graduation requirements up to and not exceeding one-sixth of the total number of units required for a bachelor’s degree (e.g. one-sixth would be no more than 20 credit hours of a 120 credit hour bachelor’s degree program). That is, five-sixths of all units submitted for the degree must be units submitted on a graded or credit basis.

Undergraduate Retake Policy

Students may retake courses in order to improve the grade. If a course is retaken, the original grade is noted as retaken and removed from the cumulative grade point average. Retakes can be accomplished only by re-enrolling in and completing a Kansas State University course.

Courses originally taken on a letter grade basis may be retaken on an ‘A’/Pass/Fail basis if appropriate, or if originally taken on an ‘A’/Pass/Fail basis may be retaken on a letter-grade basis. The retake grade will always be used in the cumulative grade point average computation regardless of whether it is higher or lower than the original grade. The original course remains on the academic record.

Although there is no limit to the number of times a course may be retaken, a student may retake a course with subsequent removal of the prior grade from the calculation of the grade point only once for each course, and only for the first five retaken courses during the student’s academic career at K-State.

Any grades obtained from retaking courses beyond these limitations will be used in calculating the cumulative grade point average. A retaken course will count only once toward meeting degree requirements.

Any course retaken after completion of a bachelor’s degree will not affect the credits or the GPA applied to that degree. {University Handbook, F65.1}

Courses that were retaken before Fall 1986 are not able to be used in determining whether five courses have been retaken.

Academic Fresh Start and Academic Forgiveness

The Academic Fresh Start and Academic Forgiveness Policies enable an undergraduate student to neutralize, in part, the grade impact of prior academic performance. Academic Fresh Start and Academic Forgiveness provide for the computation of an alternative GPA and for the use of that GPA in most academic situations. A student may apply only once, and to only one or the other, and the process cannot be reversed. A student may not apply for either policy until he or she has been reinstated into his or her college. To read the policy in its entirety refer to the University Handbook, F104 - Academic Fresh Start, and Academic Forgiveness GPA Policies.

Credit and Grades

Total units, including Pre-Academic Fresh Start, transfer work accepted, K-State resident graded units attempted and miscellaneous units completed establish the level for academic warning and dismissal calculation. However, transfer units and grades are not computed in K-State grade point averages.

The following definitions are used when determining a student’s scholastic deficiency:

1. Credit hours used to determine Total Hours Accumulated will include transfer hours accepted, all K-State graded hours, and miscellaneous hours completed.
2. Grades used in calculating term and cumulative grade point averages will include only K-State graded hours. Grades for courses accepted in transfer from another institution will not be used in the grade point average calculation.

Release of Grades

A student’s grades may be accessed only by the student through KSIS or by ordering an academic transcript. {University Handbook, F43}

Report of Grades

Academic progress reports for new freshmen are available in KSIS to students and deans’ offices approximately six weeks into the spring and fall semesters.

The instructor reports final term grades, based on examinations and course work, to the Office of the Registrar via the KSIS grade roster.

In case of absence from the final examination, the instructor reports a mark of ‘I’ for incomplete or computes the grade on the basis of zero for the final examination. If an Incomplete is reported, a reasonable time, usually not over one month, is allowed in which to take the examination.

Grade Appeals/Grievances

Grievances involving a change of grade (but not academic dishonesty). {University Handbook, Appendix V: 1.3}

1. All efforts will be made by the student and instructor involved in any grievance to settle all disputes that may arise. Grade appeals must be initiated within six months following the issue date of the grade in question.
2. If a grade-change grievance is not resolved by the student and instructor, the student may appeal in writing to the department head concerned, who will act as a mediator in the dispute. This appeal should be made within two weeks of the date of the decision of the instructor. At this time, the student may petition the dean of his college for an ombudsperson. The duties of the ombudsperson are to arrange meetings of all concerned parties and report actions taken at each level to the appropriate persons or groups. The role of the ombudsperson is to expedite the process and to ensure a fair hearing.
3. If the grievance has not been settled to the student’s satisfaction at the department level, a written appeal may be made to the dean of the college in which the course is taken. This appeal should be made within two weeks of the date of the decision of the department head.
4. If the student does not feel that an adequate solution has been reached in the grade appeal dispute, he or she may appeal in writing to the Undergraduate Grievance Board which will arbitrate the dispute. This appeal should be made within two weeks of the date of the decision of the dean.  Appeals received during the summer will be heard the following fall term. Appeals should be addressed to the Undergraduate Grievance Board, c/o Chair (look for the name of the Chair for Committee 3030 at http://www.ksu.edu/provost/committeehb/).
5. The two-week time limits given in the sections above are intended to move the grievance process along at a reasonable rate. The limits may be modified for reasons such as illness, scheduled academic holidays, or mutual consent of both parties.